Barack Obama's 'bad cop' Rahm Emanuel quits for mayor job

A KEY US presidential aide is due to resign today and will begin his campaign to run for the mayor's job in Chicago next week, it was reported last night.

• President Barack Obama with his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office at the White House. Mr Emanuel is expected to run for Chicago mayor. Picture: Getty

Sources said White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who has been described as "the bad cop to President Barack Obama's good cop", would return to Chicago over the weekend and begin touring neighbourhoods on Monday.

His plans have been the source of widespread speculation both in Chicago and Washington ever since sitting Mayor Richard Daley announced this month he would not seek re-election. In April, Mr Emanuel said it was "no secret" he'd like to run for the post.

His departure from the White House represents a loss for Mr Obama, who has counted on his chief of staff's intensity, discipline and congressional relationships to keep the administration focused and aggressive. The job comes with nearly unrivalled pressure and power.

Mr Obama, who is expected to make an official announcement today, is likely to install senior adviser Pete Rouse, a calm White House presence with his own seasoned understanding of how Washington works, to serve as interim chief of staff. The president is likely to choose a permanent chief of staff after the 2 November congressional elections, which are expected to be bruising for the Democrats.

Top contenders are Mr Rouse, deputy national security adviser Tom Donilon and Ron Klain, chief of staff to vice-president Joe Biden, according to aides close to the president.

Mr Daley, who has held the mayor's job since 1989 and carried on a family dynasty, surprised many with his announcement.

The choice for Mr Emanuel suddenly became whether he would make a dash for the political job he has openly coveted, at a cost of uprooting his family again and quitting his post of national influence sooner than he had hoped to.

When he ultimately announces his candidacy, Mr Emanuel instantly becomes the most recognisable name in what is already a crowded field of candidates and possible candidates.

Already with well more than $1 million in his war chest and his well documented ability to raise huge amounts of money for political candidates around the country, Mr Emanuel's campaign would be extremely well funded.

Other possible candidates include Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart -who has made a name for himself in the Chicago area for suing Craigslist, the free online advertiser - former senator Carol Moseley Braun, at least one state senator and a city alderman.

A number of African Americans besides Ms Moseley Braun are considering running, including Representative Danny Davis and James Meeks, a state senator and prominent black minister.Black ministers, politicians and others have discussed throwing their support behind one candidate.

A number of possible candidates, including all the above, are in the process of collecting the 12,500 signatures necessary to win a spot on the February ballot paper.